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Running head: An Improved Work Environment 1

An Improved Work Environment

Taylor Martin

Daniel Mondragon

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

An Improved Work Environment 2

Abstract

The main focus of our research is on the overall improvement of the work environment and the

prevention of work related injuries. We want to make the workplace as efficient and economic as

possible for the employers without sacrificing the employee’s health from repetitive stress injury.

In an attempt to reduce the amounts of injuries that occur in the workplace and work stress we

found that there are two areas of improvement. First of all the physical toll on the body is the

main cause of injury so through ergonomically designed work stations we hope to solve the

problem. Also present in the workplace is stress, which can be caused by many different factors.

We found ways to reduce work stress through research on the cognitive processes of humans and

found that the key lies in the usability of the systems (software). Taylor Martin will provide

information on the negative effects of a poorly designed work environment; she discussed the

injuries and long term negative effects that the workplace can have on the human body. Daniel

Mondragon discusses prevention methods and solutions for the work environment focusing

specifically on physical and cognitive improvements ranging from ergonomically designed

furniture, to user friendly and low-error computer software.


Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………..………………………………….4

Repetitive Stress Injuries…………………………………………………………………..5

Cognitive Ergonomics…………………………………………………………………….10

Ergonomics………………………………………………………………………………..12

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...14

Summary of Findings……………………….14

Solutions/Recommendations………….…….15

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………16


An Improved Work Environment

In our modern workplace humans have had to accommodate to dealing with large

amounts of information. Modern technology has brought upon us increased capabilities as

humans, from multitasking to information processing. Overall it has made us what most would

agree with, very efficient “machines”. But just how efficient are we? Is there room for

improvement? Research has shown that humans face many physical and mental obstacles of

efficiency. These obstacles include poor furniture design or layout, poorly designed systems, and

even bad work culture. With these obstacles out of the way humans could maximize their

potential in the workplace, getting more done in less time in an easier fashion. There has been

much research done in the individual problems of the workplace. For example ergonomics expert

have created the best possible design for office chairs in order to prevent back injuries, they have

also designed keyboards to reduce the chance of carpel tunnel. Human factors expert have

redesigned the usability of software to reduce cognitive stress. But we were unable to find an

entire “package” of solutions for the workplace. Something you could advertise to a company

that would implement all of these solutions for an efficient work place. How can human

performance be increased? With a combination of physical and cognitive changes to the work

environment human performance can be enhanced. Workers will be less stressed, injured less,

and happy because the key to the success of any company is its people. Our research showed us

specified solutions in the areas of ergonomics, injury prevention, work culture, software design,


cognitive processes and human limitations. An example of a limitation is humans’ inevitable

tendency to waste time while at work. This is a very small setback because employers already

take that into account in the payroll, our goal is to maximize the rest of the time that humans

work. To do so, we will in the body of this report state the solutions and recommendations to the

optimal workplace. We will state the possible injuries due to a lack of ergonomic design,

changes made to office layouts, what specific furniture will be redesigned, the profitability of

change, how software should be usable, and how to create a positive work culture. Considering

today’s work environment the question arose, how can we maximize human performance in the

workplace without sacrificing safety and user satisfaction?

Repetitive Stress Injuries

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health

Administration, repetitive stress injuries are the most costly and common health problems in the

workforce. RSIs have caused hundreds of thousands of injuries and costed the U.S. over $20

billion in workers compensation (National & International Statistics for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

and Repetitive Stress Injuries of the Upper Extremity). Repetitive stress injuries are extremely

common in the work place and most of the time underestimated. Although effects might not be

immediate, the long-term effects are significant.

Repetitive stress injuries are musculoskeletal disorders caused by repeated motions of

different parts of the body throughout a day. The motion must be continuous for a length of time

before it can cause injuries. RSI’s most commonly occur in the hands, fingers, thumbs, wrists,

elbows, and shoulders, but RSI’s can still occur in most parts of the body. Immediate signs of

repetitive stress injuries can be pain, swelling of the area, and loss of flexibility. Long-term


damage of the body tissues can also be a problem with repetitive stress injuries. Jobs that are

most commonly affected by RSIs are as follows: Assembly line work, sewing, meatpacking,

computer work, and even playing musical instruments. RSIs accounted for one-third of the

injuries that caused a loss of a workday in a year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

repetitive stress injuries resulted in the most amount of missed workdays in the U.S. in 2002,

with a median of 23 days. The most common of those injuries was carpal tunnel syndrome.

There are several different kinds of repetitive stress injuries in the workplace and they are a

continuous problem that people should be aware of.

As you can see from the graph, one of the most common repetitive stress injuries is

carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by over use and repetitive use of the

hands. It affects the carpal tunnel, which is located in the wrist joint. According to the National

Center for Health Statistics, carpal tunnel syndrome causes the highest number of days lost out of

all work related injuries. In around half of the reported cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, at least

31 days of work are lost. The most common symptoms of CTS are numbness, tingling, and pain

in the palms, wrists, fingers, and thumbs, swelling of the hand, and possible weakness or

clumsiness of hands. Studies at University of California San Francisco show that women are

anywhere between two to four times more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome then men. Also,

after conducting the study researchers found that not only are women more susceptible to CTS,

but they also have a larger decrease in function and more fatigue after getting CTS. The

principle investigator of this study and UCSF professor of Community Health Systems, Julia

Faucett, RN, PhD, said, “We found that the ability to continue working after developing carpal

tunnel syndrome stems from job related factors over and above personal factors and the severity

of the medical condition. Regardless of how the syndrome developed, the best predictors of who


stayed at work had to do with what kind of work the individual was engaged in and the

psychological and physical conditions of the workplace.”

Factors that contribute to the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome are arm elevation,

adduction, and rotation, awkward hand positions, vibration, tight gripping, and repetitive hand

motions. There are studies that have also shown that stress can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome,

as well. There are certain tests that physicians can do to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome.

These tests are called Tinel’s test, Phalen’s test, and Electromyography. These tests are used to

detect damage of the median nerve. In mild cases CTS can be treated by anti-inflammatory

drugs, rest, and exercises from a physical therapist, and in some cases a splint will be given. In

more severe cases of carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is required if no other treatment works.

Surgery is not the first option and will not always alleviate the problem.

Another common repetitive stress injury is bursitis. Bursitis affects the joints of the

body. It is inflammation and irritation of the bursa, which is a fluid-filled sac beneath the

tendon. The function of the bursa is to reduce friction between the body tissues. The body

contains a total of 160 bursae; therefore, it is possible to get bursitis in most places on the body,

although the most common bursae are located near the large joints in the body. That is why it is

most common in the hips, shoulders, elbows, and knees. High amounts of repetitive motion of

the hips, shoulders, or any other joint causes the tendon to rub continuously over the bone, which

in turn causes irritation of the bursa. This process it what starts bursitis. For example, someone

who throws a ball continuously in the same motion for a long period of time will be susceptible

to bursitis. Another common example of bursitis is someone who sleeps on their side a lot and

puts a lot of pressure on the shoulder and hip joints.


Bursitis can cause pain, swelling, tenderness, and stiffness of the infected area. It can

either be caused by an infection or other things like injury or rheumatic disease. Bursitis that is

caused by infection must take a little more care to treat. The fluid in the bursa must be taken to a

laboratory to be examined. This will tell the doctor more about the microbes causing the

infection. Antibiotic therapy is needed to treat infectious bursitis. Sometimes aspiration of the

infected fluid and surgical removal of the bursa infected could be necessary, as well. Bursitis

that is NOT caused by an infection can be treated by anti-inflammatory medication, rest, and

cold compresses. Sometimes it will require aspiration of the fluid in the bursae. This basically

just means the removal of the fluid. The procedure is done through a needle and syringe and can

be done in the doctor’s office.

A third repetitive stress injury that is common in the work force is tendonitis. Tendonitis

is simply the irritation and inflammation of tendons. Tendons are the tissues in the body that

attaches the bone to the muscle. Tendonitis is basically an injury from overuse or repetitive use

of the affected part of the body. Tendonitis can occur at any age, but it is most common in

adults. Tendons can’t handle much stress as they get older and they are more susceptible to

tearing. Some of the most common places on the body for tendonitis to occur are the knee,

shoulder, hip, elbow, and Achilles tendon. Symptoms of tendonitis are pain at the site of the

tendon, stiffness, and burning. With tendonitis the pain could be sudden and strong, or it can

slowly build up to get worse. The best way to treat tendonitis is the take anti-inflammatory

drugs, rest, possibly undergo physical therapy, and support the part of the body suffering from

tendonitis.

A fourth kind of repetitive stress injury is epicondylitis. Like most RSIs, epicondylitis

deals with inflammation and irritation. Specifically, it is the inflammation and irritation of the


epicondyles and possible pain in the forearm. Epicondyles are the bumps on the outside and

inside of the elbow. Lateral epicondylitis is on the outside of the elbow and medial is on the

inside of the elbow. It is extremely common among tennis players. Almost 50% of all tennis

players will get epicondylitis in their career. Epicondylitis, also commonly known as tennis

elbow, is generally thought of as strictly a tennis injury, but in fact, it can happen to almost

anybody. One can get epicondylitis several different ways such as, overuse, direct blows to the

epicondyle, a sudden pull, and even hyperextension. Treatment of epicondylitis includes pain

medication, physical therapy, and heat or ice.

Overall there are many different repetitive stress injuries. Although most seem to effect

the same areas of the body and have the same symptoms, RSIs can effect almost anywhere in the

body. Repetitive and tough motions on the body can be extremely detrimental to a person’s

health. When people are young they seem to use their bodies and strength for just about

everything. The last thing on our minds is how we could be damaging our bodies in the long

run. Although the damages might not seem significant now, these small aches and pains can

become large burdens in our later years.

Think about this statistic. In the whole United States 77.4% of the population uses the

Internet. Many of these people spend more than a couple hours a day on the computer,

especially people in the workforce. Sooner or later the young generation of today will begin to

feel the effects of these countless hours on the computer. Not only will people have to pay for

this, but some businesses will see the repercussions through workers compensation, as well.

Repetitive stress injuries are growing problems for people at work, and if people and businesses

don’t take action, this problem will continue to increase.


Not only are repetitive stress injuries hurting the workforce, but psychological and mental

issues need to be considered, as well. Sitting behind a desk in an 8x10 foot cubicle surrounded

by tall grey walls all day can be extremely exhausting and harmful to the human psyche. The

work environment is in a dire need for change and diversity. It is important to study the human

body and not only its physical needs, but its psychological needs also. By studying both these

physical injuries and psychological injuries we are better able to design an ideal work

environment. This in turn will allow production to be faster and more efficient. Although these

changes might be costly, in the long run they will definitely pay off.

Cognitive Ergonomics

Cognitive Ergonomics, a term synonymous with Cognitive Engineering, concerns the

design, structure, and operation of the interface between the human end user or operator of a

system and a system’s states and processes (worplace library by performance). This means the

knowledge of how humans think remember forget, see, hear, pay attention, and make decisions

has a direct correlation on how systems should be designed. In this case a “system” is the human-

machine interaction. It ranges from a human and a chair to the operating of specific software in

the workplace. Ultimately when the work environment is designed around humans’ cognitive

tendencies then fewer errors should be made and productivity should increase. All humans

possess certain cognitive abilities. This is the set of skills used to perform daily tasks from

simple to complex. It is how we pay attention, how we learn, and how we problem solve. San

Diego State University conducted research on human eye movement and visual perception. They

used advanced eye tracking devices that tracked human eye movement. The device also

measured human pupil dilation during the decision making process. Such research can be used to

create interface usability in the workplace. If you have ever come upon a website in which u


can’t find what you are looking for you have experienced poor usability. In the workplace this

can cause unnecessary cognitive stress and it impairs human efficiency. This is where interface

design comes into play. With the knowledge of human eye movement and visual perception we

can design websites and software with high levels of usability. In order to this there are thirteen

principles of display design in the four categories of: perceptual principles, mental model

principles, human attention principles, and human memory principles. The thirteen principles

consist of:

Make display legible/audible: Displays and interface must be easy to read. If there are auditory

cues they must be well projected.

Avoid absolute judgment limits: absolute judgment is the limited human ability to judge

absolute variables. In display you want colors with a high degree of contrast rather than the

opposite.

Top down processing: humans perceive and interpret signals according to past experiences.

Green means go, red means stop.

Redundancy gain: expressing message twice or via an alternative physical form increases the

likely hood of correct interpretation. For example the traffic light uses both color signals and the

placement of them, top, middle, and bottom.

Discriminability: similarity causes confusion, use discriminate elements.

Pictorial realism: display should look like what it represents.

Moving parts: moving elements of a display of dynamic info. Ex: speedometer

Minimizing information cost: user should not waste time moving from one display to another.


Proximity compatibility principle: similar functions placed close together because of mental

proximity

Principle of multiple resources: in order to facilitate information processing use different

sensory stimuli. For example visual signal along with an auditory signal is more effective than

two visual or vice versa

Replace memory with visual information: reduce the reliance on memory

Principle of predictive aiding: predicting the future is a difficult cognitive task therefore

display should be designed aid the predicting process.

Principle of consistency: human tendency towards habits. For example windows newer version

are always similar.

Although these principles may seem overly detailed, they truly make up a successful interface

and display. As far as software in the workplace goes, a well-designed interface may be the

difference between productivity and inactivity.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics literally means the science of work. It is the study of how work is done and how to

improve it. Ergonomics goes hand in hand with human factors; both focus on human interaction

and the performance. In the workplace, ergonomics plays a huge role in injury prevention and

comfort.


When purchasing a computer chair for example, ever wonder what factors vary the price?

Ergonomics is probably the number one factor in office furniture price variance. A less

expensive chair will be uncomfortable and if continuously used can cause lower back injuries.

Injuries are commonly cause by bad posture or restricted blood flow. A well-designed chair

meets all the demands of the human body and minimizes injury occurrence. The chair needs

most importantly, lumbar support which helps maintain lordosis in the spine to reduce lower

back pain (worplace library by performance). It must have adjustable height and depth as well as

adjustable armrests to accommodate the wide range of sizes of the users. Waterfall front edge is

the shape of the edge of the cushion, this is important so blood flow from the back of the thighs

and the knees is not restricted. The chair is not the only piece of furniture that can be

ergonomically designed to improve the work environment. But in order to convince companies

to invest the money into redesigning the workplace you must first justify the cost. In doing so an

employer may ask why make ergonomic changes? The answer is simple, you improve the safety

and health of your workers, you ultimately reduce company costs, and you will increase

productivity and quality of work. As sad as it may be companies often overlook the health aspect

of ergonomic redesigning and focus more on profit. In order to convince a company that

ergonomic design is the proper solution you have to talk dollars One must mention the fact that

preventing injuries is saving money and saving the company from having to deal with OSHA

(Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Up front ergonomic change may seem

expensive but avoiding injuries in the long run and improving the productivity of your workers

will definitely turn out profitable.


Conclusion

I. Summary of findings.

The heart of the problem of work related injuries is a combination of poor ergonomics in the

work place, the use of cheap inefficient software, poor workstation and work place design, and

poor culture in the workplace. With all of these factors present in today’s workplace it makes up

a very inefficient environment for humans to perform in. Carpal tunnel is one of the most

common injuries in the workplace. It is also the leading cause of days missed from work due to

injury with a median number of twenty-seven (United states department of labor, 2001). With

this said twenty-seven days accounts for 216 hours that an employer is paying for but not

profiting from. This problem is not at all obscure and has been around for many years. Through

our research we found that injuries such as carpal tunnel or back strains are probably the major

obstacle of human performance, followed by cognitive obstacles and ultimately cultural

obstacles. We concluded that it is in the best interest of employers to address these problems not

only for the health of their employers but also for the good of the company. Ridding of these

problems is not free, but employers will greatly profit from such solutions in the long run. The

price of redesigning an office is far less than workers compensation for carpal tunnel and/or back

strains. People who have carpal tunnel surgery often have to repeat surgery within two years

because symptoms return. All in all it is a very serious injury that should be prevented and this

prevention should be prioritized in the workplace. Humans are also very inefficient mentally, and

poorly designed software does not help. When software becomes hard to operate and recovering

from errors is difficult, not only is time wasted but this could cause unnecessary stress on


workers. To summarize the findings it is safe to say that there is a lot of room for the

improvement of human performance in the workplace and with our recommendation this

pinnacle of performance will be reached.

II. Solutions/Recommendations

Replace all office chairs with ergonomically designed chairs with: lumbar support,

adjustable height, adjustable armrest height, adjustable backrest depth, and waterfall front

edge.

All desks will have ergonomic keyboards sitting 26 inches off the ground. Install typing

shelf if necessary.

Adjustable lighting for decreased eyestrain.

Make the top of the computer leveled with the user’s eyes.

Avoid cubicles if possible but when absolutely needed lower the cubicle height for a

more team oriented environment with” openness” to it.

Hold weekly or monthly social events for workers to build a work culture where

coworkers are friends.

Replace old software if necessary with redesigned software.

New software will be easy to use, learn, and remember.

Error recovery should be easy to avoid lag time and stress.

Allow for workers to take more but shorter breaks throughout the day

Following these recommendations human performance in the workplace will be maximized

and safety and user satisfaction will be increased.


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